True Genius
by mnokeros
Summary: There really wasn't any way to stop the Uchiha massacre, but there may be a way to mitigate the damage. AU rated for ref. to death


Goes without saying, I don't own Naruto. 

This is an alternate universe where everyone is quite a bit more intelligent then they seem. 

* * *

His sword lifted he prepared for the killing stroke. His father wouldn't be able to dodge, and his mother would follow in death just a few minutes after her husband. It was perfect. They were the last and then he would find his little brother and deliver his message. But the instant before he would have attacked a short dark form intervened between him and his father. 

"Sasuke?" His father frowned after coming to a stop.

"Itachi," Sasuke said, naming the killer. It wasn't a response, but added to his father's confusion. If Itachi was confused he didn't show it, merely stilled his movements. "What are you doing?"

"Measuring my capacity" He responded. That Sasuke was calmly asking the question was surprising. 

"By killing everyone?"

"Yes, now move aside little brother, I'd like to save you for last"

"No"

Itachi merely snorted, but before he could properly get ready to attack, Sasuke called out "Naruto?"

"9, 7, 7, 5, 8, 9" was the prompt response. Itachi wondered why he was unable to sense the other child earlier. 

"That is for option two, Naruto, I thought we agreed to option 1" Another voice answered, and again Itachi wondered why he didn't notice the other chakra signatures. 

"Well Shika, just thought Sasuke would prefer option two right now". Ah, Sasuke's other friend, Shikamaru Nara. Those two were Sasuke's excuse for nearly everything. 'Sasuke you are the laziest boy' would meet with the response 'Shikamaru's lazier.' And the answer to 'Sasuke, why would you do a thing like that?' was always 'Me and Naruto thought it'd be fun.

"Ok then, just switch the last 9 for a 7."

"That seems a little too easy, Naruto, you sure it'll work?" Finally Sasuke came back into the conversation. 

"Oh come on, who are you talking to here? Of course it's that easy."

Needless to say Itachi was a little perturbed to be taken so lightly. Especially by three academy students; his average brother, the dead-last Naruto, and the never-awake Shikamaru. 

Both boys shifted, Sasuke into a stance taught by the acadamy, while Itachi drew some shuriken. As one they attacked. 

Itachi took his time, testing and trying to discover why his little brother and their friends thought they could handle him. He sensed chakra flowing from the Nara to his parents, and accurately guessed that was the reason his parents weren't moving. Sasuke was countering everything perfectly, seeing Itachi's moves as, or even before, he made them. Indicative that Sasuke had awakened his sharingan. 

"When?"

Sasuke smirked "Target practice with the kunai. I wanted to see." 

Itachi moved faster – certainly not as fast as he could, but enough to see if Sasuke could keep up. Itachi was also keeping track of Uzumaki and Nara. They, stupidly were nodding at specific times, Uzumaki in particular mouthing numbers after his nods. Which showed that they were merely academy students. At Naruto's soundless "5" Itachi put some space between them. Sasuke was breathing heavily. Sasuke was still young enough that this fight with Itachi was a workout. Sasuke smirked again, forming handseals quickly. Itachi recognized the order for one of their fire jutsus, and wondered, worriedly, if Sasuke was stupid enough to risk fire in a wooden building while his parents and friends were inside. Deciding that it would still be better to intercept the jutsu, Itachi started forward only to see Sasuke increase the speed of his handseals, brace himself, and bring two fingers up to his mouth. Itachi was still confident that he would remain unscathed – after all, everyone knew Sasuke's laziness. And he was right. The fire that barreled toward him wasn't enough to set tissue paper on fire. But that wasn't the point. The point was that Naruto came through the flames to soundly kick him in the head. Then land another hit using Uchiha-style taijutsu. And then another, as if the boy had the sharingan as well. Itachi blamed seeing an outsider using their taijutsu style as what caused him to falter for a moment. And a moment was all it took. He realized that he could not move, and the chakra Itachi sensed from the Nara had moved from his parents to trap him. 

"That wasn't 7" he said to Sasuke. 

Sasuke looked confused for a moment before giving the lopsided smile he had developed in recent years. The one that seemed to say; only one half of my face is showing you how I really feel. "The numbers are contextual. Like a language. Mom, Dad, can you maybe call someone to take care of Itachi? Shikamaru can't hold him forever. And Naruto? Could you bring them back now?"

"Yeah." Naruto answered. Their father gestured and their mother ran off to contact whomever she could find.

Itachi still had at least one trick he could use, and his younger brother, despite the clever plan, was not taking as many precautions as he could. For example, Sasuke still looked into his eyes when he answered Itachi's questions. "A well executed plan little brother. Did you think of it all on your own?" Sasuke looked at him, but wanting to know the answer kept Itachi from using his trump card just yet. 

"Even when an Uchiha tries…" Sasuke looked to Shikamaru. "My friends are geniuses. They're much more intelligent than you. Shikamaru is a tactical genius – a battlefield genius. He can plan out moves even before he knows what the limitations are. Naruto, on the other hand, is a situational genius. He saw you fight, Itachi. He saw you fight, and that's why you lost to him. His genius is even better than the sharingan." Naruto put a hand behind his head and appeared to blush. Sasuke seemed to know this even without looking at his friend because he smirked "Better not let him have too much time to think, or else he'll find a way to bring down Konoha, the shinobi continent, and establish himself as supreme leader."

Itachi smirked as well, "And what role do you play in this little threesome?" then put his foolish little brother under the power of the Mangekyo sharingan. Sasuke froze in place, a look of disgust, shock, and fear set around glassy eyes. Itachi felt Shikamaru's concentration falter, and in that instant Itachi was gone. Naruto and Shikamaru rushed to Sasuke, who stirred as soon as Naruto touched his shoulder. 

"What the hell was that?" Naruto asked in typical Naruto fashion. 

"That was the power of the Mangekyo sharingan." Sasuke's father answered. The three boys looked at him, and under their combined gaze he expanded on his answer. "That sharingan is achieved only after the sacrifice of the one closest to you. Itachi must have killed Shisui," but he trailed off when he noticed the arrival of the ANBU and his wife. He went to talk to them, sending off a few immediately to track Itachi, and further explaining the situation to the others. His wife stayed with him after sending worried looks to her youngest. But he and his friends seemed to be deep in conversation. 

"What was it? What did he do?" Shikamaru asked. 

"Genjutsu, I think. And he forced me to watch everything he did tonight. The killing, the blood…" he clenched his jaw, "As if I hadn't already watched everything he did." Naruto lightly tapped Sasuke's arm with a closed fist. 

"Well, the rest of your family is coming, they'll be here in, maybe five minutes."

A minute later their clothes ruffled in the breeze caused by the departing ninja, leaving them alone with the last remaining Uchiha elders, and default leaders. They turned to look at the adults. 

"Why didn't you save all of them? You could have stopped him." Sasuke's father asked. His mother seemed content to remain quiet. 

When Sasuke looked away and didn't answer, Naruto smirked and said "A better question to ask would be 'Why did you save us?'" which promptly earned him an elbow in the side from Shikamaru, and a glare from Sasuke.

"Sasuke?" His mother asked. And Sasuke couldn't bring himself to not answer. 

"To a certain extent, Itachi's right." Sasuke started "All the elders were fighting, competing over what little scraps of power they could. They weren't paying attention to what was best for the clan. They, all of you, were stagnating, and no longer doing what made the Uchiha clan great in the first place. What is the use of being able to learn everything instantly if you don't use that knowledge?"

"What is your role in this little threesome?" his father muttered, mostly to himself. He looked off to the side, where the clans children were gathered. The oldest there was 13. 

Sasuke smiled slightly as he looked in the same direction as his father. "Situational genius, tactical genius," he named, counting off the members of their triumvirate. "Me? I just learn really fast." His eyes were sad as he regarded the 13 year old. "You couldn't convince anyone else?"

"Not without alerting Itachi." His voice was strong and his face expressionless. He stared at Sasuke's mother and father. After a long moment he turned to Sasuke "You didn't let them die too?"

Sasuke looked down and away. He flinched when one of his younger cousins started shouting at him. Blaming him for the deaths of her parents. He missed the look shared between his 13 year old cousin and Naruto. 

"Stop." His cousin's tone booked no argument, and the shouting voices quieted almost immediately. "If he hadn't done what he did, all of us would either be slaves, or dead too. Most of you are too young to know what they were like." During the speech Sasuke looked up, disbelief on his features as he listened to his 13 year old cousin. He felt Shikamaru's hand on his shoulder and Naruto's light tap on the other one, and he realized that hey had taken flanking positions around him. "Naruto," his cousin continued, "I would have taken their view until this bet made me evaluate the situation." Sasuke didn't shoot a glance at Naruto, he knew what expression would be on Naruto's face. But it was hard. "The bet was," his cousin said, turning to Sasuke's parents "was on whether or not Sasuke would keep his secret and allow you to be killed, or if he would save you two." He turned back to Sasuke "Your decision to save them proves that you are human, and," here he smiled "Completely unlike your brother."

* * *


End file.
